The CHAIN consortium (Connecting HeArts and mINds) is a unique national training programme that will tackle one of the most urgent, under-recognised challenges in cardiovascular medicine: the bidirectional link between heart and brain diseases. It represents a £7.1M investment from the BHF and the participating universities (Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool) into an area of enormous medical importance, underpinning diseases that include vascular dementia, myocardial infarction (heart attack) and atrial fibrillation, amongst many others. The Programme aligns perfectly with the UoM existing strengths and their ambition to solve key challenges with integrative solutions and multidisciplinary approaches.
Delivered collaboratively by the Universities of Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool, the new PhD Programme will train 40 of the UK's most promising scientists to move beyond disciplinary boundaries and adopt integrated approaches to heart-brain health. Together, they will uncover the biological and societal drivers that link heart and brain diseases, develop new tools for early detection, create predictive digital models for personalised care, and design therapies that target shared pathways across both organ systems. This integrated approach reflects the growing need for preventative, system-level solutions as populations age and multimorbidity rises.
Recognising the need for integrative research linking heart and brain diseases, the programme is centred on the principles of multidisciplinary. Students will work on ambitious cross-disciplinary projects spanning discovery bioscience, engineering, data science, imaging, epidemiology and behavioural science. Bringing these different perspectives together will enable new insights into complex disease processes and help drive innovative solutions to some of the biggest challenges in cardiovascular and neurological health.
Cohort-based training across all three universities, alongside strong industry partnerships and access to world-leading infrastructure, will provide students with a rich and collaborative research environment. Together, these opportunities will equip them with the skills, networks and experience needed to become the future leaders driving innovation in cardiovascular and neurological research, with real impact for patients and health systems alike.
The programme application was led by Dr Gina Galli (University of Manchester), Professor Deirdre Lane (University of Liverpool) and Professor Alastair Poole (University of Bristol), who will be Directors of the new programme. For Manchester, this sees a continuation of our sustained BHF-funded PhD programme that has been running successfully since 2009, training present and future generations of cardiovascular researchers.
Professor Ashley Blom, Vice President and Dean of Biology, Medicine and Health at The University of Manchester said: "We are delighted to be part of this national training programme which looks at the links between heart and brain diseases, an important yet under-researched area of cardiovascular medicine."
